Free Big Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES Fur BEARS Book 4) by Natalie Kristen Page B

her mouth, she dusted her hands and tossed out, “The heart of a saber-tooth tiger.”
    “What...?”
    “The heart of a saber-tooth tiger is the only thing that can neutralize its venom,” Ne-ma answered. “That tiger tried to kill you. So it's only right that we use his heart to save you. We crushed the heart and mixed it with some dried eyes...”
    “...add the tip of a tail...” Gramma said, ticking off the ingredients on her fingers.
    “...a teardrop...”
    “...a sneeze...”
    “...and half a box of potion powder...”
    “Boil everything at high heat and…
    “Voila!” Gramma and Ne-ma said together with a flourish.
    “They just had to inject the antivenom into you, and all the damage that nasty venom did to your body was reversed.” Ne-ma beamed. “You feel right as rain now, don't you?”
    “Yeah. I do,” Nick replied, rolling his shoulders. “In fact, I feel great!”
    “We told them you'd wake up when your cells finished repairing themselves, but everyone was just so scared and worried. They were afraid we got the potion wrong,” Gramma huffed.
    “We knew what we're doing,” Ne-ma smirked. “We learned this in school. Potions 101.”
    “Thank you, Gramma, Ne-ma. You're awesome witches,” Nick said sincerely.
    “The awesomest?” Gramma wheedled.
    Nick grinned. “The awesomest!”
    When Nick reached for her, Zoe immediately took his large, strong hand and let him draw her to his side.
    Nick pulled her down for a deep, lingering kiss. “Thank you,” he whispered against her mouth. “You saved my life.”
    Zoe smiled and blinked back tears. “They did,” she said, indicating everyone in the room.
    “They sure did.” Nick nodded and looked up at Josh and Jax. “How did you guys know where I was? You just rushed out of nowhere and attacked that saber-tooth tiger. We were in the middle of the woods, out of town...”
    “Gramma and Ne-ma saw you tearing out of town like a madman. You almost ran them over. They flagged us down and told us to follow you,” Josh said. “Good thing that new client delayed us by asking so many questions so we were late getting back...”
    “We were driving by when we saw Gramma and Ne-ma waving and gesturing wildly,” Jax recalled.
    “It took us some time to find your car. There were skid marks on the road. Your car had slammed sideways into a tree, but the engine was still running,” Josh said, shaking his head.
    Zoe tightened her grip on Nick's hand and looked at the twins, Gramma and Ne-ma. “Thank you...” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “You saved me and Nick. We owe you...
    “Nah. You owe us nothing.” Gramma waved a hand.
    “We take care of our own,” Ne-ma said emphatically. “We love you, and no one messes with the people we love!”
    “Nick is like our big brother,” Josh said, grinning.
    “So you're our family too,” Jax said.
    Zoe couldn't help her tears. But they were happy tears. She spread her arms and embraced them all when they crowded in for a group hug.
    “All right, remember to get his blood sample,” Dr. Halle said and grinned at Zoe as she went to the door.
    “I will.” On impulse, Zoe threw her arms around the doctor and hugged her hard. “Thank you, Emily!”
    “I'm just doing my job. I'm a doctor, and you—are one of our best nurses,” Emily said, her eyes sparkling behind her glasses. “Our nurse, and our griffin! We have a griffin in Shadow Point! How cool is that!”
    Zoe smiled and felt her heart swelling with joy and pride. She was a great nurse, and a powerful griffin. Seriously, how cool was that?
    She turned and stifled a giggle when she heard loud, familiar voices down the corridor. Nick's workmates burst into the room, with Damien at the head of the group.
    “Out of my way!” Damien hollered. “Where's the sleeping beauty? My magic kiss will wake him right up!”
    Nick let out a healthy, hearty roar. After a stunned silence, his mates exploded into cheers and began to pile on him,